“Doesn't every kid want to dig a hold to China? Didn't you? What about Chinese children?”

“The best morals kids get from any book is just the capacity to empathize with other people, to care about the characters and their feelings. So you don't have to write a preachy book to do that. You just have to make it a fun book with characters they care about, and they will become better people as a result.”

“I may have ruined my life, but at least I got to eat some really good Chinese food.”

“But don't forget who you really are. And I'm not talking about your so-called real name. All names are made up by someone else, even the one your parents gave you.   You know who you really are. When you're alone at night, looking up at the stars, or maybe lying in your bed in total darkness, you know that nameless person inside you.   Your life is about to be ripped apart. You will be turned into a digging machine. Your muscles will toughen. So will your heart and soul. That's necessary for survival. But don't lose touch with that person deep inside you, or else you won't really have survived at all.”

“Well, let me tell you something, Caveman. You are here on account of one person. If it wasn't for that person, you wouldn't be here digging holes in the hot sun. You know who that person is?""My no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather.”

“An idea doesn't die," said Trapp. "It exists somewhere, in its own dimension, waiting to be perceived.”

“Rattlesnakes would be a lot more dangerous if they didn't have the rattle.”